Women who enjoy DIY projects are finding a welcoming online community along the way. — Freepik
KAYLA Nelson was perched on a ladder in her bedroom installing picture-frame molding in a recent Instagram Reel. The rhythmic guh-gunk of the nail gun she was using was overridden by the soundtrack of Megan Thee Stallion’s Where Them Girls At.
One of her followers remarked on being scared of messing up such a job, which led to indecision over whether to try it alone or pay someone else to do it.
“You get those tools out,” Nelson replied.
Nelson, an interior designer by training who goes by @homediyary on Instagram, has built a loyal following as she showcases fun, approachable do-it-yourself projects – including a cased opening for her living room and a revamped linen closet.
“After college, I had all of these things that I wanted to do in my home,” said Nelson, who grew up in the Bronx but now lives in New Jersey. “But as a graduate, you don’t have money to hire a contractor. So I watched YouTube videos to learn the skill, and with every project, I would build my tool bank.”
It was with her mum’s encouragement that Nelson started posting her home improvement projects to social media in March 2020, just as the world was locking down for the pandemic. And she wasn’t alone.
While specific data breaking down power tool usage by gender is hard to come by, and women have been using power tools for decades (hello, Rosie the Riveter), there’s little doubt that social media has given a platform and long reach to power tool users outside of the typical straight male demographic.
Online tutorials make it easy for curious novices who might otherwise feel intimidated to trying projects like DIY home repairs, renovations and art projects. And many are finding a welcoming online community along the way.
“When you do it online, you’re not afraid of looking like a person who doesn’t know what they’re doing,” said Mercury Stardust, a content creator whose videos offer renter-friendly DIY projects.“Especially the way that I teach – in 90-second clips – the person can always go back over and over again, exact wordage repeated to them 10 times.”
Stardust wrote a book with step-by-step instructions for common home repairs and said that a vast majority of attendees at her 54-stop book tour in 2023 were mums in their 40s and 50s, many of them single parents or widows.
Focus on skills
While Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor and his caveman bark were fixtures of 1990s television, many of today’s DIY-themed creators were taught by male mentors who focused more on skills and less on grunting.
Joanie Sprague, a carpenter and contractor in Huntington Beach, California, had several male mentors during her childhood and young adulthood.
“I grew up in Pittsburgh, and it was pretty common,” she said. “Everyone had a little machine shop in their garage.”
Sprague, the runner-up on Cycle 6 of America’s Next Top Model, had always loved DIY projects. She was still modeling in 2018 when she secured a gig on a reboot of the home-remodeling reality show Trading Spaces.
“I got my contractor’s license being on that show and just fell into it hard,” she said. “I wanted to learn it all.”
She added that she continued to learn under the tutelage of male cabinetmakers, electricians and other tradespeople to gain skills.
Sprague now pays that forward by teaching woodworking to women in person and sharing her skills as part of a maker community.
“The maker community fell into place during the pandemic and quickly became a resource for everyone who wanted to create,” she said.
While online communities can get people started, an in-person experience in a safe space can be crucial to refining skills. Among those trying to create that opportunity is Emily Pilloton-Lam, the founder and executive director of Girls Garage, a design and construction school in Berkeley, California, with programmes on skills like woodworking and welding for girls, youth and adults.
“I used to teach a shop class and I would observe my female students, who were totally capable and creative,” Pilloton-Lam said.
“The minute I said to go cut four pieces at 96 inches (2.44m) on the chop saw, you could just see the little flicker in their eye. It’s a social calculus that girls have to do: Should I raise my hand for this? Do I belong there? Am I good enough?”
“You don’t have to prove that you belong here,” Pilloton-Lam added. “This was created for you, which is a really rare thing for women to experience in male-dominated spaces. You’re going to be welcomed, and you’re going to be treated like someone who’s capable.” – ©2024 The New York Times Company
